Motion-picture cabinet



A. G. MERRIMAN MOTION PICTURE CABINET June 26, 1 923.

Filed Feb. 14, 1922 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNEYS W/T/VESSES A. G. MERRIMAN MOTION PICTURE CABINET Filed Feb. 14, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,4 TTORNEYS June 26, 1 923.

w/mfsses v//D fw June 26, 1923.

A'. MERRIMAN MOTION PICTURE CABINET Filed Feb. 14, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A mvg/Iron JLG. Merriman,

BMW

ATTORNEYS Panarea Jene 26, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

ARTHUR GATES MERRIHAN, COLUMBUS, OHIO.

I MQTION-PICTUBE CABINET.

To all whom t may concem:

' riorly of the cabinet for occasioning the reflection of images of desired pictures upon the screen.

' A further object of my invention 'is to provide in an apparatus of the character described, a cabinet of ornamental and artistic appearance which is particularly well adapted to be placed in a parlor for use in home entertainment. V

A still further object of my invention is the provision in an apparatus of the character described of an effective means for preventing the overheating of combustible elelments comprised in the apparatus.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly outlined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustratedin the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a practical embodiment of the invention,

'Fig 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. '1, the view being taken substantially at right angles to Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a detail of a fragmentary portion of the structure shown in Fig. v2, showing an incandescent lamp comprised in the apparatus and a portion of the cooling means associated therewith,

Fi 4 is an enlarged cross section through the discharge ring of the portion of the cooling means shown in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through an apparatus embodying in a modified form the same invention as that illustrated in the preceding views.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a casing 1 which by preference is similar in conformation and'finish to the casing of a Victrola cabinet, being substantially rectangular in cross sectional contour and supported upon legs 2 which are provided at their lower ends with casters 3. A horizontal partition 4 divides the interior of the casing 1 into an upper compartment 5 and a lower compartment which is not shown in the drawings but which extends from the horizontal partition 4to thelower end of the casing. The lower compartment is a storage compartment and is formed with an opening through the front wall thereof for which a pair of swinging doors 6.4-6 are provided. The upper compartment is provlded with an opening 7 through its front wall in which is mounted. a 'translucent panel A8 which may be made vof ground glass or other suitable material. A pair of doors 9--9 are hingedly attached to the walls of the opening 7 and may be moved into position to close the opening and cover the translucent panel 8 or into open position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. The upper compartment 5 also has an opening 1() through a side wall thereof, which opening is normallyclosed by a pair of swinging doors 11-11.

The means for producing the images of desired objects as, for instance, pictures, upon the translucent panel or screen 8, is disposed within the upper compartment 5. The image producing means now preferred by me is illustrated to advantage 1n Fig. 2'

' and will now be described.

A base plate 12 is superimposed upon the horizontal partition 4 and has formed on the front part thereof an upstanding pedestal 13- carrying a lamp Aand projector casing 14. The latter is substantially hemispherical in form and is closed at its larger end by an integral end portion 15 having a central opening 16 formed therethrough. A projector tube 17 is received in the opening 16 and projects at its opposite ends interiorly and eXteriorly-of the casing 14, as shown. The casing 14 is formed with an elongated integral neck portion 18 at its smaller end, which neck portion is in axial alinement with the openin 16 and conse uently with the inner or retlecting surface or" the mirror L reel 22 supported upon an upright 23 from the base plate 12 carries a ribbon made of paper or other opaque material and having produced upon the outer side thereof a series of pictures. rl`he ribbon 2- is threaded through the slots 20-21 inthe Walls of the neck portion and is Wound upon a lower reel 25 as unwound :trom the upper reel 22. A cinematographic ribbon feeding mechanism which may be of any suitable lrnown construction and which is there-fore shown diagrammatically, as 1ndicated 23, is provided for occasioning the unvvinding of the ribbon 2d from the upper reel 22 and the Winding of the same upon the lower reel 25 in a desired manner and at a desired speed. rll`his cinematographic ribboneeding mechanism also operates a shutter 55, so that the latter cuts oft the light at each instant When the shift is made from one picture to the nent in cinematographic sequence', just as is done in a standard motion picture machine.

A. motor 27 for operating the ribbon feeding mechanism 26 is shown diagrammatically in the drawings. l prefer to provide an electric motor adapted to be operatively connected with and actuated from a lighting circuiti such as is ordinarily installed in a residence, 1valthoug'l'n obviously any suitable drivingmechanism ot' known construction may be employed.

vVVithin the casing 1t, a plurality of sources or light are supported. such as the incandescent lamps 28 carried by sockets 29 projecting through openings in the Walls or the casing 1d, as ilustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. lPteectors 30 are provided for focusing the rays ot light from the incandescent lamps 28 upon the portion of the ribbon 24- which is being passed through the neck portion or the casingvn transversely thereof. llt is to be observed at this point that the incandescent lamps 23 are disposed substantially equidistant from the projector tube 17 and that theylatter extends Within the casing 1d a vsuilicient distan-ce to preclude the possibility that rays of light may pass directly from the incandescent lamps 28 into the projector tube. The rays of light from the incandescent lamps Will strike the object, such as a picture, Whichis produced upon the ribbon 24 and `will be reflected through the projector tube 17 and through a lens 31 in the outer end of the latter. whereby the image of the picture produced upon'the ribbon 2li will be presented upon the translucent panel 8, as shown in Fig. 1, and may be viewed by all persons to Whom the translucent panel is visible. The .lens 31 is of such form as to cause the ra s of light passing therethrough to diverge, t us enlarging or magnifying the 2014-21 through its walls adiecent to ineaovi may be or any suitable lmovn type of construction and is therefore shown diagram- Amatically, as indicated at 32. The blower mechanism` 32 basan air intake tube 33 communicating `with a screened openingq 351- through the Walls ot' the casingn 1. A main delivery tubel35 leads from the blower 32 to an opening 36 in the casing 1- and is formed to provide branches 3G extending Within the casing 1f; into communication `with annular discharge nozzles 37 respectively disposed upon the sockets 29 adjacent 'to the incandescent lamps 23 and each lic-ving an annular llot or oriice 38 through the side thereof proximate to the incandescent lamp with which associated. A branch delivery tube 39 connected with the main delivery tube 35 has the discharge end thereof positioned adjacent to the slot 20 through the casing 14.- and in position to discharge the air passing therethrough upon the portion oi the ribbon 24 disposed Within the neclr portion of the casing.

, fin opening 40 through 'the upper part of the casing 14 permits the escape oi' the cooling airirom the casing 14; into the upper compartment 5, when it passes through a suitably screened openingn (not shown) in the Walls oi the latter to nthe atmosphere.

From the `foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereo2 may be readily understood. rllhe 1 blower mechanism 32 may be operatively connected with the motor 27 or may be actuated by any other suitable known means.

will be obvious that Vwhen the ribbon 24: having produced thereon a series of related objects or pictures, is threaded through t e neclr portion of the casing 1t in the same manner that a 1ilm is passed through a motion picture machine of conventional construction, that images produced upon the translucent panel 8 will 4appear in so- 'wuence in similitude to 'a motion picture.

he images produced may be varied at will and may be selected to afford both entertainment and instruction in the home. The casing 1, when the apparatus is not in use` has the appearance of an ornamental article of furniture and adds to the general ensemblel of the room in which disposed.

5 ln Fig. 5, I show a section through a modification of the embodiment ofthe invention heretofore described. Like reference numerals have been used to 'designate lilre parts of the two embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings and lll() is the reflector for that particular lamp.

The Several casings 501are relatively arranged so that their axes if extended would intersect at a point through which the ribbon 24 is passed when unwound from the reel 22 to a lower reel. Each casing 50 is open at .theend thereof facing the ribbon 24 and each casing has disposed in the open end thereof'a projector tube 5l provided with a suitable lens 52 for focusing the rays of-light from the lamp upon the ribbon 24 and upon a mirror 53 disposed back of the exposed portion of the ribbon and adjacent thereto.

` The rays of light focused upon the exposed portion of the ribbon v24 are reflected therefrom through a lens 54 upon the translucent panel or screen 8. The mirror 53 serves to reflect through the lens 54 such rays of light as do not strike the ribbon 24. The image of the picture produced upon the exposed portion of the ribbon 24 will be presented upon the translucent panel or screen 8. The shutter 55 is provided for cutting off the rays of light from the ribbon 24 each instant when the shift is made from one picture to the next in the series.

lThe operation of the modified form of c the device is otherwise identical in essential Vnot be described herein.

Obviously my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms varying in detail from those illustrated in the accompanying drawings or described herein, and therefore consider as my own all such modifications and adaptations of the embodiment of the invention illustrated which fairly fall within the scope of the annended claims.

I claim ll. In acinematographic apparatus, a cabinet casing having a translucent panel in the walls-thereof, a substantially hemispherical lamp projector casing supported within said compartment with the larger end thereof facing the translucent panel, said lamp casing being closed at its larger end by an integral wall having an axial opening formed therethrough and havin an elongated integral neck portion at its smaller end in axial alinement with the vopening through the larger end thereof, said neck portion having vertically alined slots through its walls, adjacent to its extremity and having an additional slot through its walls in parallel relation to the plane of the first slots and between the latter and the body of the lamp projector casing, an ed ewise swingable shutter working in sai second slot, means for feeding opaque picture ribbon through said first slots to expose portions of the latter Within the neck portion of the casing, a mirror'disposed transversely of the neck portion of the casing at the extremity of the latter and in confronting relation to said translucent screen, an incandescent lamp disposed within the casing for projecting rays of light upon the exposed portion of picture ribbon,and means for operating said ribbon feeding means and said shutter to feed said ribbon through said neck portion of the casing and to alternately prevent and permit rays of light from the incandescent lamp to strike the exposed portion of ribbon.

2. In a cinematographic apparatus, a cabinet casing having a translucent panel in the walls thereof, a substantially hemispherical lamp projector casing supported within said compartment with the larger end thereof facing the translucent pane-l, said lamp casing being closed at its larger end by an integral wal-l havin an axial opening formed therethrough an having an elongated integral neck portion atits smaller endin axial alignment with the opening through the larger end thereof, said neck portion havin vertically alined slots through its walls, a jacent to its extremity and having an additional slot through its walls in parallel relation to the plane of the first slots and between the latter and the body of the lamp projector casing, an edgewise swingable shutter working in said second slot, means for feedin opaque picture ribbon through said first s ots to expose portions of the latter within the nec-k portion of the casing, a mirror disposed transversely of the neck portion of the casing at the extremity of the latter and in confronting relation to said translucent screen, an incandescent lamp disposed within the casing for projecting rays of light upon the exposed portion of the picture ribbon, means for operating said ribbon. feeding means and said shutter to feed said ribbon through said neck portion of the casing and to alternately prevent .and permit rays of light from the incandescent lamp to stri e the exposed portion of ribbon, and cooling means comprising an air conduit Vhaving a ring nozzle surroundin the incan- 

